New freshwater crab found in Arunachal

A new species of freshwater crab has been found at the Namdapha National Park in Arunachal Pradesh, the renowned science journal ‘Zootaxa’ said.

A three-member team of scientists of the Zoological Survey India (ZSI) spotted the species ‘Teretamon kem-pi’ in the park in Changlang district in April this year, a research paper of the journal said.

The crab, generally resides under burrows in rocks or boulders or in streams, has a round-shape carapace and measures around 1.5 inches in size.

The team collected a specimen of the brown colour species from the primary forests at an elevation of 375-657 meters above sea level.

The crab has been named after Stanley W Kemp (1882-1945), former superintendent of ZSI and a scientist famous for his work on crustaceans.

Currently, there are 1,000 species of marine crabs and 120 species of freshwater crabs in the country. In north eastern region, there are 45 species of freshwater crabs with Arunachal Pradesh having 10 alone, the paper said.